Halifax/Kjipuktuk—The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia has released its annual living wage update for Nova Scotia—which, for the first time, provides a broad regional assessment that also includes living wages for Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. The report highlights the rising costs of living, and offers recommendations for supporting low-waged workers across the region.
In Nova Scotia, the new wages for two adults working full-time (35 hours a week) to support two children are:
- $26.20 for Annapolis Valley,
- $24.00 for Cape Breton,
- $28.30 for Halifax,
- $24.90 for Northern, and
- $25.20 for Southern.
The increases to the living wage rates range from 1 per cent increase in Southern to 7 per cent in Halifax.
The living wage is closely tied to changes in the cost of living. As CCPA-NS Director, Christine Saulnier, co-author of the report, explains, “As the cost of living rises, so too does the living wage—unless the government steps up to address the increasing costs of living.”
Living wage rates across Atlantic Canada vary, given the regional cost of living differences. The living wage is highest in the Halifax and Labrador-Northern-Peninsula regions and lowest in Prince Edward Island. Halifax has the highest housing costs in the region, and child care costs are the steepest in Nova Scotia. There is variation across and within provinces.
“Workers continue to struggle to make ends meet, especially when it comes to groceries and housing. The provincial minimum wage needs to have another significant increase to address the growing gap between the legal bare minimum and what workers actually need,” said Suzanne MacNeil, spokesperson for Justice for Workers Nova Scotia.
CCPA-NS Director Christine Saulnier, co-author of the report, explains the current situation facing workers, “Without more effective government policies and higher wages supporting workers to at least keep pace with the cost of living, they are faced with very difficult choices about their monthly budgets, often sacrificing their health.”
Saulnier continues, “This is a call for all employers to play a living wage. But, governments could help address the gap in living wages if they chose to act more decisively in support of broad-ranging policies. As outlined in our recommendations section, federal and provincial governments must provide more generous income support to more people, and invest in housing, transportation, food security and expand public services like child care and health care to make life more affordable for all low-wage workers.”
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The report, 2024 Living Wages for Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island: Closing the Gap between the Cost of Living and Low-Waged Employment, is available for download at www.policyalternatives.ca.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Cherise Carlaw at [email protected] or (902) 943-1513 (cell).
The CCPA-NS is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with social, economic, and environmental justice.
